Chinese composer Tan Dun wins Hamburg Bach Prize

The composer of the
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragonfilm score has his sights set on Oz.

Chinese composer and conductor Tan Dun has been named recipient of the 2012 Bach Prize of the City of Hamburg in a presentation coinciding with his 55th birthday. The prestigious award is given every four years to “an exceptional composer of our time.”

Tan Dun worked as a rice planter on in a government commune during the Cultural Revolution, before studying composition at Columbia University. He is best known for his scores for films including
Crouching TIger, Hidden Dragonand
Hero,and for collaborations with cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

The composer is pictured here with a copy of Bach’s original
St Matthew Passion manuscript, which formed the basis of his own work,
Water Passion after St Matthew.

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